Social networking, promoting and marketing yourself.

This morning I had big plans to get up early and shoot sunrise. Well, it was overcast and very little if any of the sunrise could be seen but, as I often say there is always something to photograph. The above picture came out of that mind-set. I decided to drive to a small community called Dettah. I drove to Dettah on the ice road and I stopped close to a small island where someone had place some large rocks. It is a place that I am unlikely to get to at any other time but, when the winter ice road is open. I returned from Dettah on the all season road which made my return trip 11 km longer.

Social networking, promoting and marketing yourself.

There has been a big change in how we get in touch, stay in touch and communicate with others in the past few years. The Internet is changing how we do many things. For those of us that are into photography, it is no different, which I guess is a little interesting. Most careers use computers as a main tool set for getting work done. I am a part owner of an Accounting Firm and I certainly can relate to where computers and the internet has brought us. Photography however, uses the computer as more of a secondary tool as the camera is the real piece of equipment the Photographer must use. The computer was used mainly for storage of picture files and photo editing but, there are now new things available to us – things that may be just as important to a Photographers ability to earn with his/her vision. Those things are, the ability to communicate with others and the ease of getting your name and work to the masses.

Almost every Photographer (at least those trying to sell their work) has a website. Most also have a blog. I would be willing to think that 100% has at least one or the other. That is the norm. A website and blog are only seen by those who know it exist or have been told by a friend. On occasion someone stumbles across a site and keeps going back but, how do we get our work to the masses?

Well, there are a few places that we are using more and more. Facebook is probably the big one. Currently there are more than 350 million Facebook users. Linkedin is another similar type site (only a little more business minded). Linkedin now has more than 50 million users in more than 200 countries. Twitter is another, having more than 55 million visitors per month, which is amazing to me. It only allows 140 character messages to be posted, almost like texting on the internet. Twitter is also listed in the top 50 most popular websites worldwide. These three sites alone allow us to market ourselves to the masses. There are more and more people following their favorite Photographer through one or more of these sites. They suggest pages to their friends, they link up and they tweet. These things make the consumer or fan feel like they can communicate directly with you which, is a huge marketing tool.

Add Pay Pal and other online purchasing options for consumers, online stock sales sites and you can almost never be seen outside (unless you shoot outside, studio photographers may never need a coat again, lol).

We can buy all our equipment online, order our prints online, and send clients their pictures electronically. Everything can be done without actually having to meet anyone but the people you photograph.

So, if you want to be known, just start signing up and soon enough you will find people will realize you are there. What is sad for me is the lose of that face to face connection. The other thing that scares me is a person with good marketing skills may have an advantage over others and their photography may not be as good. We may lose some very talented people through this online world we now live in. There is a whole new skill set to learn. I use to say, I had a small advantage, I can do my own accounting and taxes and I understand the running of a business, because that is what I do everyday. All I need is about a million workshops to teach me to take better pictures. Now we throw this new social media into the mix and it makes self-promotion easier for some and harder for others. Hopefully the great Photographers become more well-known and we don’t lose them in the mix.

So, after you read this and go order your prints from my main websites “Prints” page, you need to sign up for your favorite social media site and start your self-promotion. I have started to do it but, I still can’t get my head around Twitter.

Another photo from today, only this one was taken about an hour and 20 minutes outside of Yellowknife (for those from the area, it was just past Misqueto Creek). After my return from Dettah, I decide to go out again and do some more picture taking. I love winter photography and I love shoot moving water even more (even if this water moved slowly), so this location was great for me. The snow getting to this little stream was about waist deep but, I made it and got several shoots there. I hope you like it as much as I do. If you don’t that is ok too.

It is an interesting time indeed, and a somewhat paradoxical one in that these tools of convenience seem to be making things more complex. But then I am a terrible self-promoter, so maybe it’s just me.

I definitely hear you about the loss of face to face connection, but I do have to admit that were in not for these tools, I might never have found your site, nor made some other great connections across the country.

By the way, I am not sure if you read Guy Tal’s web journal, but he has some great insights into social media and photography. Check it out for sure.